1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a crystallization-stable alumino-silicate glass, especially a glass with a sharp UV-edge, a method of making it and to its uses.
2. Related Art
A series of glasses, which can take heavy heat loads and which are used, above all, for lamp bulbs. Especially this sort of glass is used in lamps, which contain molybdenum components, such as electrodes or also conductors. Thus for example EP-A 0 913 365 describes a glass, which can take heavy heat loads, for lamp bulbs, which contains >58 to 62% by weight SiO2; 15 to 17.5% by weight Al2O3; 0.2 to 0.7% by weight B2O3; 0 to <1% by weight MgO; 5.5 to 14% by weight CaO; 0 to 8% by weight SrO; 6 to 10% by weight BaO; 0.05 to 1.0% by weight ZrO2; 0 to 0.3% by weight CeO2; 0 to 0.5% by weight TiO2 and 0 to 0.6% by weight Br−. The crystallization stability is improved by addition of MgO, which takes on a similar network forming function like Al2O3 and SiO2. For this purpose the MgO together with CaO and SrO in the glass should have an exact definite weight relationship to BaO. The alkali content is below 0.03% by weight and the water content is below 0.02% by weight in this sort of glass. To adjust the UV absorption CeO2 and/or TiO2, which shift the absorption to longer wavelengths, are(is) added to this sort of glass.
DE-A 100 06 305 describes another glass, which can take heavy heat loads, or lamp bulbs, which comprises an alkaline earth alumino-silicate glass. The glass described in this reference is characterized by a composition (in % by weight on an oxide basis) of >58 to 62% by weight SiO2; 14 to 16% by weight Al2O3; 0.2 to 1.0% by weight B2O3; 0 to <1% by weight MgO; 9 to 13% by weight CaO; 0 to 4% by weight SrO; 10 to 12% by weight BaO; 1 to 1.8% by weight ZrO2; 0 to 0.3% by weight CeO2; 0 to 0.5% by weight TiO2 and 0 to 0.1% by weight Cl. In this glass the ratio of CaO plus SrO to BaO amounts to 0.8 to 1.3. This glass is especially suitable for putting molybdenum components, such as molybdenum wires, through the outer glass bulb. Furthermore the glass is characterized by improved devitrification stability.
EP-A 0 672 629 discloses an alumino-silicate glass for flat display screens, which is essentially free of alkali oxides and which contains 49 to 67% by weight SiO2; 6 to 14% by weight Al2O3 and 0 to 15% by weight B2O3 as well as 12 to 13% by weight of alkaline earth oxides. This sort of glass has a thermal expansion coefficient CTE in a range of 31 to 57*10−7/° C.
However it is has been shown that the glass compositions according to the prior art are generally strongly inclined to crystallize. Thus crystals arise in this sort of glass from the melt vessel and/or settling vessel, especially at the debiteuse and/or the so-called “Danner blowpipe”, which grow further with time and which detach in sufficient amounts from their deposit, and thus arrive in the viscous glass. Since this sort of crystal does not dissolve in glass, it remains in the end product as a troublesome or interfering grain-form inclusion.
Furthermore these crystals, which form during drawing at the so-called Danner blowpipe and/or the needle or nozzle and fasten or attach themselves there, lead to striations or streaks on the glass surface. This makes the so-called “rinsing or scavenging” at high temperatures required, in which the crystals are detached or removed. This rinsing or scavenging step requires halting the production of the glass and thus leads to yield reductions.
Furthermore in many applications it is undesirable to provide the glass with a UV absorption cutoff that is as sharp as possible, i.e. a boundary region between those wavelengths, which can pass through the glass with a high transmission, and those wavelengths, which are absorbed, is as small as possible. In other words, in some applications it is undesirable that the so-called UV cutoff is comparatively steep.